Jailed bosses behind taxi violence — Cele

Police minister Bheki Cele has come out strongly against taxi violence in the Eastern Cape and hinted that the disruption in the industry was being perpetuated by prison inmates.

Cele was at the Mthatha police academy on Friday to officiate at the passing-out parade of 194 new constables, the first batch of an intake of 10,000 new police trainees this year.

The minister said he suspected the orders for taxi violence came from taxi bosses in prison and that police were investigating the allegations.

He said his department was working with correctional services and the transport departments because public transport violence affected all three departments.

“Mthatha is part of that taxi violence. The violence is [allegedly] planned and pushed from correctional service centres as there are people who would love to see this continuing.

“So we are working together with correctional service leadership, especially [justice and correctional services] minister [Ronald] Lamola, to make sure that we cut that link of taxi violence and the people who run that violence from correctional service centres,” Cele said.

The minister also expressed concern at other public transport problems in the Eastern Cape, including attacks on long-distance passenger buses, which he said had also happened in the Western Cape.

“There is taxi violence and also bus violence that we are faced with.

“Eastern Cape and Western Cape are not only involved in the taxi violence, but also in the bus problems facing Intercape and other buses. ”—